Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Mussina Optimistic About '08

From the Daily News:
"Last year was last year. It wasn't my best year, and I know that. But you've got to let those things go," said Mussina, who will oppose Toronto's A.J. Burnett tonight. "It's like having a bad game - or three bad games - you've got to let them go and move on. That's pretty much what I've done."

Following what he referred to as a "more-involved" workout regimen before and during spring training, Mussina says he feels "better physically now than I did last year," when he missed a few early starts with hamstring problems.

With Mussina's contract set to expire in October, the Yanks are counting on a healthy and productive season from the righthander, who is 43rd on the all-time list with 250 wins after reaching double-digits for an AL-record 16 straight season.

"It's just like the end of any other contract. You've just got to play," Mussina said. "This team doesn't negotiate early, so that's not an issue. And because I'm getting up there in age, there are other factors that go into what I'm going to do next year. So I'll just play."

A lot of people think Moose is done, but I'm not going to say that yet. I think the guy has a little left in the tank, at least enough for one more solid year. I don't expect him to be the pitcher he was in '06 (15-7, 3.51 ERA), but I do think he will be better than he was in '07 when he was just awful. I figure he'll finish this season with an ERA around 4.50 and win 12-15 games.

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